Characteristics of profiles of gamma-ray burst pulses associated with the Doppler effect of fireballs

In this paper, we derive in a much detail the formula of count rates, in terms of the integral of time, of gamma-ray bursts in the framework of fireballs, where the Doppler effect of the expanding fireball surface is the key factor to be concerned. Effects arising from the limit of the time delay due to the limited regions of the emitting areas in the fireball surface and other factors are investigated. Our analysis shows that the formula of the count rate of fireballs can be expressed as a function of $\tau$ which is the observation time scale relative to the dynamical time scale of the fireball. The profile of light curves of fireballs depends only on the relative time scale, entirely independent of the real time scale and the real size of the objects. It displays in detail how a cutoff tail, or a turn over, feature (called a cutoff tail problem) in the decay phase of a light curve can be formed. This feature is a consequence of a hot spot in the fireball surface, moving towards the observer, and was observed in a few cases previously. By performing fits to the count rate light curves of six sample sources, we show how to obtain some physical parameters from the observed profile of the count rate of GRBs. In addition, the analysis reveals that the Doppler effect of fireballs could lead to a power law relationship between the $FWHM$ of pulses and energy, which were observed previously by many authors.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ (10 December 2004, v617

Microstructure evolution of TI-SN-NB alloy prepared by mechanical alloying

In the present study, Ti-16Sn-4Nb alloy was prepared by mechanical alloying (MA). Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were used to characterise the phase transformation and the microstructure evolution. Results indicated that ball milling to 8 h led to the formation of a supersaturated hcp &alpha;-Ti and partial amorphous phase due to the solid solution of Sn and Nb into Ti lattice. The microstructure of the bulk sintered Ti-16Sn-4Nb alloy samples made from the powders at shorter ball milling times, i.e. 20 min- 2 h, exhibited a primary &alpha; surrounded by a Widmanst&auml;tten structure (transformed &beta;); while in the samples made from the powders at longer ball milling times, i.e. 5- 10 h, the alloy evolved to a microstructure with a disordered and fine &beta; phase dispersed homogeneously within the &alpha; matrix. These results contribute to the understanding of the microstructure evolution in alloys of this type prepared by powder metallurgy.<br /

A secretory kinase complex regulates extracellular protein phosphorylation.

Although numerous extracellular phosphoproteins have been identified, the protein kinases within the secretory pathway have only recently been discovered, and their regulation is virtually unexplored. Fam20C is the physiological Golgi casein kinase, which phosphorylates many secreted proteins and is critical for proper biomineralization. Fam20A, a Fam20C paralog, is essential for enamel formation, but the biochemical function of Fam20A is unknown. Here we show that Fam20A potentiates Fam20C kinase activity and promotes the phosphorylation of enamel matrix proteins in vitro and in cells. Mechanistically, Fam20A is a pseudokinase that forms a functional complex with Fam20C, and this complex enhances extracellular protein phosphorylation within the secretory pathway. Our findings shed light on the molecular mechanism by which Fam20C and Fam20A collaborate to control enamel formation, and provide the first insight into the regulation of secretory pathway phosphorylation

Processing and mechanical properties of hollow sphere aluminum foams

Hollow sphere metallic foams are a new class of cellular material that possesses the attractive advantages of uniform cell size distribution and regular cell shape. These result in more predictable physical and mechanical properties than those of cellular materials with a random cell size distribution and irregular cell shapes. In the present study, single aluminum hollow spheres with three kinds of sphere wall thickness as 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm were processed by a new pressing method. Hollow sphere aluminum foam samples were prepared by bonding together single hollow spheres with simple cubic packing (SC) and body-centered cubic packing (BCC). Compressive tests were carried out to evaluate the deformation behaviors and mechanical properties of the hollow sphere aluminum foams. Effects of the sphere wall thickness and packing style on the mechanical properties were investigated.<br /

Damping properties of open cell microcellular pure Al foams

Damping behaviours of the open cell microcellular pure Al foams fabricated by sintering and dissolution process with the relative density of 0&middot;31-0&middot;42 and the pore size of 112-325 &mu;m were investigated. The damping characterisation was conducted on a multifunction internal friction apparatus. The internal friction (IF) was measured at frequencies of 1&middot;0, 3&middot;0 and 6&middot;0 Hz over the temperature range of 298-725 K. The measured IF shows that the open cell pure Al foam has a damping capacity that is enhanced in comparison with pure Al. At a lower temperature (&sim;400 K), the IF of the open cell pure Al foams increases with decreasing relative density, with decreasing pore size and with increasing frequency. The IF peak was found at the temperature range of 433-593 K in the IF curves. It is clear that the IF peak is relaxational type and the activation energy associated with the IF peak is about 1&middot;60 &plusmn; 0&middot;02 eV. Defect effects can be used to interpret the damping mechanisms.<br /

Nano- and macro-scale characterisation of the mechanical properties of bovine bone

In the present study, nano- and macro-scale characterisations on the mechanical properties of bovine cortical bones have been performed by using nanoindentation and conventional compressive tests. Nanoindentation results showed that the elastic modulus for the osteons and the interstitial lamellae in the longitude direction were 24.7 &plusmn; 2.5 GPa and 30.1 &plusmn; 2.4 GPa. As it&rsquo;s difficult to distinguish osteons from interstitial lamellae in the transverse direction, the average elastic modulus for cortical bovine bone in the transverse direction was 19.8 &plusmn; 1.6 GPa. Significant differences were found in the modulus values between different microstructures of bone tissue and in different testing direction. It was found that the elastic modulus of bone bovine material in nano-level was higher than that in macro-level. The elastic modulus andultimate stress of large bone samples were 12.5 &plusmn; 1.9 GPa and 195 &plusmn; 19 MPa respectively from the compression test.<br /

Indentation study on the pressure sensitivity of a ZR-based bulk metallic glass

Spherical indentation test was conducted on as-cast and annealed Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 bulk metallic glass, and the evolution of the morphology of the deformation zone of indents upon annealing was investigated. The DSC traces of the as-cast and annealed samples show that the enthalpy change at the glass transition, &Delta;H, decreases with the increasing of annealing temperature, indicating the reduction of the free volume upon annealing. The morphology of the indents implies a reduced shear band activity in the annealed samples. The included angles (2&theta;) between two families of shear bands emanating from the edge of spherical indent in the as-cast and the annealed samples were measured to be in the range of 88-79&deg;, which decrease with the increasing of annealing temperature, indicating pressure sensitive plasticity in the as-cast and annealed samples. By Mohr&ndash;Coulomb criterion, the pressure sensitive index, &alpha;, can be obtained on the basis of the measured 2&theta;. The sensitivity index increases with increasing temperature, implying an increase of \u27atomistic friction\u27 due to the reduction of the free volume upon annealing.<br /

Native Electrospray and Electron-Capture Dissociation in FTICR Mass Spectrometry Provide Top-Down Sequencing of a Protein Component in an Intact Protein Assembly

The intact yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) tetramer of 147 kDa was introduced into a FTICR mass spectrometer by native electrospray. Electron capture dissociation of the entire 23+ to 27+ charge state distribution produced the expected charge-reduced ions and, more unexpectedly, 39 c-type peptide fragments that identified N-terminus acetylation and the first 55 amino acids. The results are in accord with the crystal structure of yeast ADH, which shows that the C-terminus is buried at the assembly interface, whereas the N-terminus is exposed, allowing ECD to occur. This remarkable observation shows promise that a top-down approach for intact protein assemblies will be effective for characterizing their components, inferring their interfaces, and obtaining both proteomics and structural biology information in one experiment

Mechanical properties and energy absorption of ceramic particulate and resin-impregnation reinforced aluminium foams

The mechanical properties of aluminium foams can be improved by matrix reinforcement and resin-impregnation methods. In the present study, aluminium foams were reinforced by both ceramic particulate reinforcing of the aluminium matrix and resin-impregnating pores. The mechanical properties and the energy absorption of the reinforced aluminium foams were investigated by dynamic and quasi-static compression. Results indicated that the ceramic particle additions of CBN, SiC and B4C in aluminium foams increase the peak stress, elastic modulus and energy absorption of the aluminium foams, under both conditions of dynamic and quasi-static compression. Moreover, the aluminium foams with and without ceramic particle additions exhibited obvious strain rate sensitivity during dynamic compression. Furthermore, the resin-impregnation improves the mechanic properties and energy absorption of aluminium foams significantly. However, aluminium foams with resin-impregnation showed negligible strain rate sensitivity under dynamic compression. It is reported that both the ceramic particle addition and resin-impregnation can be effective techniques to improve the mechanical and the energy absorption properties of aluminium foams.<br /

Fabrication of novel metal alloy foams for biomedical applications

Degeneration of the weight bearing bones of the ageing population often requires the inception of metallic biomaterials. Research in this area is receiving increased attention globally. However, most of today\u27s artificial bone materials are dense and suffer from problems of adverse reaction, biomechanical mismatch and lack of appropriate space for the regeneration of new bone tissues. In the present study, novel ZrTi alloy foams with a porous structure and mechanical properties that are very close to those of bone were fabricated. These ZrTi alloy foams are biocompatible, and display a porous structure permitting the ingrowth of new bone tissues.<br /